Oxidation is one of the most common categories of reactions, which is utilized in a wide variety of fields—industrial, military, medical, engineering, consumer products, etc. For example, alkenes are oxidized to produce ethylene oxide and propylene oxide. Some other examples include the production of terephthalic acid, phenol, acrylonitrile, maleic anhydride, phthalic anhydride, nitric acid, and caprolactam.
In addition to the oxidation of small molecules, polymers are also oxidized to produce marketable commodities (e.g., oxidized polyethylene waxes) or important intermediates with various functionalized groups for further processing. For example, oxidized polyethylene is useful as components in lubricants for polymer processing and as a water based emulsion in textile, floor care products, leather processing, water dispersible coatings, fruit coatings and inks. Furthermore, oxidation of polymers and waxes is able to modify the properties of polymers and waxes, such as molecular weight distribution, viscosity, density, drop point. A possible mechanism is by cleaving long polymeric molecules to produce shorter polymeric chains.
Therefore, there is continuing interest in developing new oxidation processes that are efficient and economical.